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by
Jessica L
The good thing about being a vampire for centuries is you can accumulate a lot of money. Carlisle, having been a vampire since 1663, so for a little less than 300 years- give or take a few decades- has plenty of money to go around. I have plenty of money myself as well. I technically survived the influenza that killed both of my parents, at least on paper. It was the only way that I could gather my families' belongings and make sure I took what belonged to my family and I with me. I moved away shortly after the flu passed through, to live with my "Uncle Carlisle," who later helped me claim what belonged to me and my family- including our Chicago home, which I still own there.
We also invest our money in a few small things here and there. We make money on construction investments, coal, and other such things. The Coopers and other families would be proud of the Cullens and our money skills, only we are smart enough to keep our names behind the scenes, as we need to be covert and hidden.
Anyways, Carlisle's money has recently gone to good use. Rosalie has decided to throw a very decadent wedding. Or perhaps I should say Esme and Carlisle are giving Rosalie and Emmett the wedding of the year. It is going to be quite an affair. Everyone who is anyone in town is going to be there, and then some. Carlisle and Esme are both very excited. Emmett is beyond proud, and very nervous at the same time. He considers Rosalie to be his angel, the angel that saved him, and brought him into this incredible world. He is proud to make her his wife. Nervous also because any sane man would be nervous marrying Rosalie- she has a lot of expectations. She has been talking about nothing but dresses, cakes, and flowers for weeks now.
It is rather comical, actually. This wedding is already the talk of the town, and it is still weeks away. She is ordering almost everything from other cities, some things even abroad. Her dress is from Paris- and it is rather beautiful. Her cake is from New York city, some fancy bakery shop. Carlisle doesn't mind at all, of course, nothing but the finest. He is thinking "How often will he get to throw a wedding for his "little girl" after all?" What he doesn't know is that Rosalie is already planning for "next time." Every time she has trouble choosing between this cake and that, this dress or that, she figures, "Oh well, there's always next time."
I am going to be the best man, of course. I am somewhat excited, but not overly so. It is going to be fun, I am sure. The reception should be interesting at least, with the music and dancing. A big fancy band is coming to play. Rosalie wants nothing but the best of course. I will be incredible. We are having the wedding behind the house and already there are sketches laid out by florists of how the flowers are going to be hanging everywhere, and hanging lights, and everything else. It will be a sight to see.
Aside from the wedding, not much else is going on. We are all taking a much needed reprieve from life, focusing on the event before us, and enjoying the happiness of Rosalie and Emmett's upcoming marriage. Or at least they are. I am trying to be as happy as I can for them, and hoping that one day this life for me will not be so bleak. I am running out of books to read at night and I am the only one here in this house without a partner. It is wearing on my nerves. Rosalie is being somewhat lady like at least, so that is good.
Esme is getting almost as annoyed with the new couple as I am about their night-time activities though, and their wedding gift from Carlisle and Esme will be to get their own house. I am greatly looking forward to that. At the very least it will mean some peace for me. I am still playing the piano, of course, and composing my own pieces, but nothing compares to Esme's song so far. I tinker around with a few other subjects as well and am getting rather smart- or so Carlisle says. I guess that's what happens when you have nothing but time on your hands. I'm bored. Such is life as a lonely vampire.
by
Jessica L
The wedding fell upon us like a day none of us will ever forget. When I say none of us, I do not just mean the Cullens. I mean the entire town. It was a beautiful ceremony, which left many in tears. It was an incredible reception. There were flowers everywhere- white lilies with pale blue and light purple roses. Most were brought in from other cities and towns to make sure there were enough to cover everything. It was decadent and fancy to say the least.
The cake was five tiers high, each of a different flavor, and the style was exquisite. It was white and round, and covered in flowers that matched the decor. Even the spaces that didn't have flowers over it was decorated with dots, frosted ribbons and other extravagant decoration. The cake was beautiful and extreme.
Of course the entire town was there. This was probably the worst part of the whole thing. Being around a bunch of humans the most of the day, as the affair took up most of the afternoon and evening. The smell tends to burn your throat with an aching thirst, and the more humans you are around the more unbearable it gets. Rosalie insisted it be a huge event, however, and this meant that the entire town attend. So we all went on a huge hunting trip right before the wedding and dealt with the thirst. To be honest, we were so busy with everything, it wasn't too hard to shove the thirst to the back of our minds and deal with everything wedding related. Rosalie's wedding was like a circus- a million things going on at once.
The band played perfectly and it was obvious that no expense was spared in the quality of the table cloths, the napkins or the silver. The wedding was the talk of the town, and had been for weeks. In fact, this caused quite a problem for the Cullens.
To be fair, it wasn't only the wedding, but our presence lately had caused a stir in town because our growing "family" and its oddness was starting to bother people. We had tried to remain low key for most of our time here, but the high class wedding blew that plan out of the water. Any last threads of normalcy we had left after Rosalie and Emmett joined our group were gone once we threw their fancy ball-style wedding.
We decided it was time to pack up and move. Carlisle says he knows of a great place on the other side of the country. We were going to be west coast vampires for a while. There is a fairly uncrowded area of Washington called Hoquaim, where it rains and stays cloudy more often than not. This sounds like a great place for us to settle down for a while.
We will need to pack quickly, as the buzz around town is growing rapidly about where our money comes from and why we are all so odd, why we act certain ways and where Emmett came from especially. Apparently our cover story regarding Emmett wasn't as good as we thought. In fact, I should probably get busy packing now, as Esme might try and help, and I don't want to hurt her feelings if she doesn't pack my books just right. I am a little particular about the way I like them packed, as we have moved so many times now. I am getting used to it. So until another time then.
by
Jessica L
Things have been going much smoother lately. It seems like scaring that poor boy was so long ago, it is hard to believe that was the last time I've written. To catch up on current events, we popped in on the trouble-making boy every now and then, trying to keep the thought fresh in his mind that he needed to keep quiet. Over the course of the summer, I monitored his thoughts and if it ever seemed like he was starting to get too comfortable, or feel too safe with the idea of telling someone about us, we paid him a surprise visit. It worked like a charm.
Rosalie and Emmett have been attending Mountain State University, like they planned, and Alice and Jasper are at Marshall University. Being the loner that I am, decided to take a year off to go do some travelling, but eventually ended up joining Alice and Jasper at Marshall. People don't really notice us there, as the classes are large, and the campus is diverse. We are just your typical college students to them, with our faces stuck in books, pale and withdrawn from too much studying, as far as anyone would assume. Since Alice and my last name is different from Jasper's, people usually assume that Alice and I are brother and sister and she is his girlfriend. We don't offer the foster story, and people really don't get nosy. It is nice to be with an older crowd that at is too caught up in themselves to worry about others. Or at least pretends to be.
Rosalie and Emmett are planning another wedding. It is going to be a big, gaudy affair in Paris this time. We will all fly out there, but they have been travelling back and forth to set things up. I swear Rosalie never gets worn out. At least this time she has managed to be gracious about the whole thing, and with Alice helping, it has been quite entertaining for the three girls to plan. We all have a week off in the spring, which is exactly when Rosalie plans on having the wedding. She wants lots of flowers blooming and tree blossoms for the photographs. Even Emmett is excited, despite the fact that Alice has picked out a light blue tuxedo with a big, ruffled shirt for him to wear. It is supposed to match the flowers perfectly, whatever that means. Girls.
When I'm not busy vocalizing how glad I am that I'm not Emmett in his powder blue suit (which usually lands me in a wrestling match in which Jasper gets involved to referee, because it is such a close match between Emmett's strength and my mind reading), I am usually studying. I actually get to take classes now that I haven't taken a million times already. College finally has something to offer me that high school did not. My favorite classes, of course, are humanities and philosophy. I love learning how how people think, why perhaps they think why they do, and how they lived the ways they did. It is incredible when you combine these classes with my innate ability for understanding the human thought process. When you can read minds, it brings philosophy to a new level.
Homework gives me something to do at night, at the least. I am usually a favorite among my professors, naturally. This tends to happen when everyone else in your house has other ways to spend their dusk hours and you are trying to kill time. My papers are always long, well thought out, and above par. I go beyond what is expected of me. In fact, now that I am thinking about it, I just got an idea for tonight's assignment. I should probably get started. Who knew- Edward, drowning his sorrows in schoolwork. I feel like a nerd. I wonder how long this will last? If I am lucky I can stretch it out a decade or so. Then again my luck never seems to take me far. Anyway, that is it for now. Be back when I have more to talk about.
by
Jessica L
Again with the boredom. I am driving myself crazy here. College is about the only interesting thing I have going on. I can't seem to get myself out of this rut. Even Carlisle's little experiments with the "jedi mind tricks" on people have bored me. Not that they were that interesting to begin with- for me anyway.
For Carlisle they were like a child with a new toy- they gave him something new to play with, or perhaps a better way to describe it would be when you are a child and you get to go to a friend's house and play with their toys. Eventually, you realize that you have to give the toy back, it was never really yours, but it was fun while it lasted. Perhaps even better than playing with your old, boring toys at home. I was the child at home, and Carlisle was the child visiting, playing with my toys. I was bored already, but he was having so much fun, I didn't have the heart to tell him to go home.
At any rate, Rosalie and Emmett are counting down the days until their rapidly approaching wedding. Every flat surface in the house is covered with catalogs and magazines and clippings of brides, flowers, and cakes from various boutiques. I am trying to avoid Emmett, who wants to pin me down as his best man- again. It wouldn't be so bad except that I'd have to wear a matching powder blue suit like his. I think I'll pass that honor on to Jasper this time, and watch the incredible ceremony from the front row. Besides, someone has to pelt Emmett with rice when they walk down the aisle, and I want to make sure I get some in his mouth when people aren't looking.
Carlisle and Esme have been spending some time off and on in Isle Esme. They have been renovating their house on the island. From what I can tell, it is quite beautiful. They keep trying to get me to go, but the whole "honeymooners" vibe just turns me off the whole idea. Maybe some day. I hear the beach is quite amazing. Something worth checking out since our swimming capabilities are beyond belief considering we don't have to come up for air.
For now, I have been drowning my sorrows in classes, homework and music. I also got a new car. It was a 1974 Invader GT. The body style just looks incredible. I had to have it. I sold one of my old cars to make room for it, since Carlisle has limited us each to two cars while we live under his roof. He says we just don't have the room for it right now. It is understandable, but frustrating sometimes when I see a car that I really like. Of course, without Carlisle's rule, I would probably have our entire garage full of cars just myself.
My new song is almost finished, and I am quite pleased with it. It is a faster paced concerto, which I rarely do, but I like it. Esme thinks my composing is really coming along well. I like that she is proud of me. Other than that, not much else is new. I am still bored to death in this town. It is generally the same as any other town. I am still tired of myself, and tired of being alone. I am still lacking something in myself, and do not know what it is. Perhaps it is my humanity, which I will never get back. Perhaps it is my sanity, which I seem to lose from time to time as well.
Today seems to be one of those days where I feel a little out of sorts. Not necessarily down, but not happy either. I suppose there are never really happy days, now that I think about it. There are bad days, and okay days. I can't really remember my last happy day. I guess it doesn't really matter, I traded happy for immortality. A person has to compromise sometimes, right?
On that note, I suppose I should end things for tonight, before I get downright ugly with myself. I am getting philosophical. That is a bad sign. Time to say goodnight. So until next time, goodnight.
by
Jessica L
Who knew something so simple could cause such a big disaster? Alice, Jasper and I had all decided to take a couple classes together this semester. Nothing major, just two fun electives: photography and art. Alice wanted to take the photography one, and I wanted to take the art. It is astounding how many electives you need for a college degree. Almost half of our college credits end up being electives, it is a rather large waste of money when you think about it, a student could take useless class after useless class and then take only a few meaningful classes to really get the education they need. It must be how the university makes its money.
Anyway, for our art class, we had a field trip to an art museum. It seemed easy enough. I am sure all three of us could have identified every piece of art in the entire building. It wasn't anything new, it was all reproductions of every classic painting, sculpture and pottery work from most major cultures. All the big names were there, Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Chagall, Gauguin, DaVinci. We were pretending to be awed and inspired the whole way through, of course, and it was harder than you might think.
The best part of the entire trip was lunch hour where we all got to sit on the grass lawn outside for an hour in the middle of the day. That's when the three of us managed to slip away for the entire hour without being noticed. We sat on the rented bus and goofed around, out of sight and out of earshot. It wasn't really necessary, but it was a nice break. When the break was over, we all had to resume our tour of the museum.
Some touchy feel-y kid decided that just looking at a Greek vase wasn't enough of a good art-learning experience for him. So he reached out and grabbed it. The professor tried quickly to stop him, and in her haste, the vase fell to the ground and shattered. As most people stared at the two in shock, the three of us saw the action in slow motion. Or perhaps because of our ability to do things with great speed, it just seemed like slow motion.
As the vase fell to the ground and shattered, the professor reached out to grab it. The student- a tall, lanky kid in his early twenties with an oversized backpack on his back- also bent down to grab it, but saw the professor and instead reached out to grab the professor as the vase shattered. Although the initial reflex to protect the professor was good, the professor had no smart reflexes, because she flinched at the student's touch and went the opposite direction, sending an elbow in the student's face. Blood spurted from the boy's nose, all over the front of his shirt and speckling the first few students nearby.
I saw the thoughts before I saw him flinch. The thought was in my mind at the same time. Jasper wanted to go for the blood and so did I. Alice was the one who pulled us both back. It was a split second of hesitation, of doubt. In that split second, she grabbed the front of our jackets and pushed us backward out of the room. No-one else even noticed our movements. They were all too focused on the commotion of the vase and the bloody nose. As quickly as we wanted to go for the blood, we were alert again. Jasper grabbed Alice's hand and bolted for the front door.
Even as I was out of the room I could smell the blood. I looked around the room and noticed my reflection in a mirror a few feet away from me. My perfect vampire vision reflected only a few small droplets of the boy's blood on the side of my face. No human would probably have even seen it. I could not only see it, but the smell was driving me crazy. I dived for the nearest bathroom, and threw my face under the faucet. I dried my face with some paper towels and took a few deep breaths.
Just as I started to get my bearings, the boy with the bloody nose came rushing into the bathroom, holding his nose. A couple of the other male students were huddled around him, helping him. They were debating whether he should go to the doctor. Everything in my world froze at that moment. I couldn't think. My only concern at that time was how many people had seen them enter the bathroom. Could I take all three of them down before they screamed loud enough for others to come running? Could I get out of the bathroom before I was seen? Carlisle would be so disappointed in me.
This was the thought that killed it. Right there. I was sane again in that moment. Carlisle. I ran some more water over my face, and looked at myself in the mirror. How on earth did Carlisle stand being around so much blood every day? I could barely handle one person getting a bloody nose. Good grief. I dried my face again with more paper towels, threw them in the trash basket and walked out of the bathroom. Alice was standing a few feet away from the bathroom door. Her posture was very tense, and her thoughts were questioning.
"I didn't do it." I answered her thoughts. She smiled.
"You had me worried for a minute there." She said.
It was one hell of a day. I think that I will skip field trips for now on. They really aren't that spectacular anyway. That's about it for now. Emmett and Rosalie are still doing their same old thing at their smaller university on the other side of town, only a week left until the wedding. Jasper got roped into being the best man. Glad I got out of that one, considering the tuxedo. It was his turn anyway. Carlisle and Esme are back from Isle Esme and ready for the wedding of the century- again. At least Paris should be pretty. I guess that's it for now, be back later.
by
Jessica L
Rosalie's Paris wedding was everything she ever could have hoped for and more. Held at the Chateau d’Esclimont in Saint Symphorien, a grand castle on cascading gardens, even my breath was taken away. Which is a lot to say considering I don't technically breathe.
Everything was gorgeous. The flowers were beautiful and covered everything. There were gardens outside for Rosalie's must-have photos, and Alice made sure that the grand hall inside was adorned in plentiful blooms of various sorts. The chairs for the guests were high-backed, red-upholstered fancy looking things, fit for royalty. They matched the long, sheer, red drapery that hung tied back over the tall, floor length windows that covered the far wall. There was no doubt that this was the wedding of Rosalie's dreams.
Aside from the powder blue suits that Rosalie picked out, which matched everything except perhaps the royalty chairs and drapes, yet somehow looked completely pulled together, it was perfect. I was a little surprised, I have to admit. How they topped off their last wedding, I am not sure, but then again I suppose this time they have Alice and her great decorating skills on their side. It was quite humorous to hear Rosalie and Alice arguing with the various wedding planners for the last two months over almost every single detail. Vetoing the wedding planners' every idea. Yet everything looks amazing.
The guest list was small, for such an extravagant wedding. This was a vampire wedding. Not many people could be allowed to know that we could afford such a big event like this. Rosalie and Emmett don't mind, of course. This wedding is purely for Rosalie's entertainment. It is so she can wear a big, fancy white dress, walk down an aisle covered in flowers, eat an extravagantly decorated cake (or pretend to), etc. For Rosalie, it was the best of both worlds this time, last time she got a fancy wedding to show off to the town, this time she got a fancier wedding to show off to her vampire friends and family.
She says one of the perks of being married for eternity is that you should get to relive the wedding and "renew your love" for each other every so often. I see right through that of course. You couldn't possibly renew their love, it is already as deep as it gets. She just wants everyone to stare at her in her dress. Which makes me laugh, of course. Typical Rose. I think we all know, but no-one really minds. Especially Emmett. That man would walk across fire for her, which says a lot since fire is our worst foe.
Anyway, I got out of being the best man, but I got roped into being an usher instead. I got to seat every vampire we have ever met- and a few extra friends who came along as "plus ones"- into rows in the grand room. At least I demanded to wear a black tux instead of blue. There's a bonus. Vampires showed up from around the world- most of them from Carlisle's request, of course, but I have met quite a few of them from my travelling experiences too.
It was interesting when I ushered Aro and his wife to their seats, however. I was careful not to touch Aro. He was overly friendly, which I have heard that he usually is, under good terms. He asked me if I have considered his offer, but did not elaborate on which offer or say anything else. I just stood there for a moment, then took his wife's hand and led them down the aisle to a fairly close row of seats. It would be in poor taste to give a Volturi leader a poor view of the wedding.
Finally, since he was obviously waiting for an answer, I told him blankly that I was enjoying time with my family, and did not see leaving them to be in my future. What he said next was rather confusing and upsetting at the same time, but it was his thoughts that rattled me the most. He said that our futures are subject to change, as I should be very well aware. Then his thoughts shifted to Alice.
I was absolutely unaware that he realized Alice had joined our family, nor did I expect him to know Alice had a special ability. Where he had gained this knowledge from, I had no idea, but it disturbed me greatly. I couldn't just interrupt the wedding to consult with Carlisle about it, and my mind was racing. I shook my head numbly and walked away. As I left the row of chairs I placed Aro and his wife in, I heard him tell me that the offer is always open and he will speak with me again soon. I just kept walking.
It was almost time for the wedding to start. Emmett was already standing up at the front, nodding his hello's and smiling here and there to people. Jasper was at his side. Rosalie was in back getting ready, and Alice and Esme were helping her. Carlisle was with Rosalie, ready to walk her down the aisle. I was up here, ushering with Eleazer, and couldn't even think of abandoning post. Finally, the music started. Pachelbel's Canon in D minor.
Rosalie came up the aisle with Carlisle, looking absolutely beautiful. Alice was behind her in a coordinating bridesmaid dress. I followed with Esme and led Esme to her seat quietly. We sat down together in the front row and watched the ceremony together, Carlisle sitting down after kissing Rosalie on the forhead after lifting her veil at the traditional place in the ceremony. It was all fancy and traditional, and had any French people been there they would have looked at us, with the powder blue suits, the oddly colored eyes, classic traditions and lack of food and thought we were all crazy. But we all loved it. A band played during the reception, we all danced, and everyone enjoyed themselves without pretending to be anyone they weren't. It was very nice.
I got a moment during the reception to find Carlisle and Alice together and tell them about Aro's statement. They both found it as bothersome as I did. There wasn't much we could do about it, however. It was like bidding time, waiting for a predator to pounce. You know they are up to something, but until you know what, you can't defend yourself. Alice is going to be on the lookout, but it won't do a lot of good. In the meantime, we are just going to go about our business in a more cautious nature. Eleazer suspects that they have another talent seeker of their own, someone who has replaced him. This would explain how they know about Alice, I suppose. The Volturi always seems one step ahead.
At any rate, the wedding was incredible, and everyone had a great time. Now we are just lying in wait. And waiting is never fun. So until I have something to write about...I'll be back.
